In the first episode of the Australian TV series Sisters (recently reborn as Almost Family on Fox), Julia Bechly has just learned that her ailing father Julius, a fertility specialist whom she's been caring for, is nearing his end.
She needs a break, so she swipes right, trades her jeans for a miniskirt, slaps on make-up, and heads out, meeting hot Sam at a bar. She practically devours him.
The next day, a news story breaks that 20-something years ago, Julius used his own sperm to impregnate his infertility patients. Dear old dad, with a weak smirk, confirms from his deathbed to Julia that he indeed secretly shared his seed.
Julia, panicked, riffles through her dad's records and stares at his bulletin board of babies in a new way. Why not throw a "family gathering" and invite all 100 or so of her biological half-siblings and hand out DNA kits to those who haven't already tested?
But at the gathering, through the excited throngs, Julia sees her recent hookup enter the ballroom, with a woman. They approach.
To continue reading, go to Genetic Literacy Project, where this post first appeared.